{"data":{"id":"11798","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":11798,"topgoose_id":1669,"tms_id":11798,"display_name":"Kalup Linzy","sort_name":"Linzy Kalup","display_date":"1977–","begin_date":"1977","end_date":"0","biography":"\u003cp\u003eEncompassing performance, video,\nmusic, writing, and directing, Kalup Linzy’s\nart probes the socioeconomic structures\nof high and low culture with equal parts\nearnestness, resourcefulness, and wit.\nAfter studying at the University of South\nFlorida and the Skowhegan School\nof Painting and Sculpture, in 2002 Linzy\nbegan producing \u003cem\u003eConversations Wit de\nChuren\u003c/em\u003e, an episodic video series that\ncontinued for over a decade. The work\nfocuses on the emotional lives of a host of\nfemale characters, all played by the artist\nin drag. These narratives play with the\ntrope of daytime television soap opera—\nwith its melodrama, plot twists, and\ncliffhanger endings—and make reference\nto the long-running soap operas \u003cem\u003eAll My\nChildren and As the World Turn\u003c/em\u003es. The story\nis set in the American South, and each\ncharacter speaks with a distinct dialect in a\nvoice-over that is slowed down or sped\nup to create masculine and feminine tones.\nThe multiple layers of Linzy’s performance—\nhistrionic acting, affected speech, blonde\nwigs, and tight dresses—result in direct\ncommentaries on gender, race, sexuality,\nand class.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/collection/works/35208\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eConversations Wit de Churen V:\nAs da Art World Might Turn\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e follows\na promising young painter, “Katonya” (played\nby Linzy), as she stages her first solo\ngallery exhibition. Made shortly after Linzy\nhimself experienced his first art-world\nsuccesses, the video parodies the rise,\nfall, and ultimate return of a hopeful\nemerging artist. Linzy’s subsequent videos\nand performance have investigated the\nstructures of celebrity and pop culture and\ninclude collaborations with personas\nsuch as musician Michael Stipe and actor\nJames Franco, among others.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":false,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500127954","wikidata_id":"Q6354621","created_at":"2017-08-30T16:34:36.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-26T01:30:20.258-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/11798/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/11798/exhibitions"}}}}